7 Visiting the Guardians

The second I and Ainz teleported back to Nazarick, I immediately teleported away from Ainz, because I knew all too well what was coming next.

"Lord Ainz!" Albedo shouted as she hugged him, almost knocking the large skeleton onto his back.

Right, she was on house arrest for disturbing Ainz during his work, that's good, she couldn't mess anything up on the outside for me.

The angels remained outside with the villagers, it would be for the better to have some eyes on the outside 24/7.

"A-Albedo, calm down!" Ainz shouted in a panic, this time, the succubus obeyed, not wanting to be separated from her beloved for days again.

"Albedo, I have to recommend you get a book about respecting personal boundaries, Shaltear already got three books on how to be more suitable for Lord Ainz, so it seems she's pulling ahead."

"She did?!" Albedo turned in surprise but promptly composed herself, "*Ahem*, I will send some maids to receive those books for me, you know I'm far too busy to get them myself."

"I understand." I bowed slightly. "Now, I have to go back to my library I'm afraid."

"Indeed, there are many things that happened, I believe some rest is appropriate." Ainz nodded along.

I then excused myself and teleported to my library, I didn't pick up a book to read, instead, I activated a high-tiered scrying spell and looked at the situation in E-Rantel.

Finding Clementine wouldn't be easy, but the graveyard would be a good start.

The sun had fully descended by now, covering the entire city in darkness, an atmosphere ideal for the sadistic woman.

After a few minutes of searching, I found her torturing some informants about the schedule of Nfirea, he would have to go on another trip to Carne village to get some herbs for his potions soon.

'Things are moving forward as planned, great.' I nodded, Clementine then killed the informants in a way I refuse to describe in detail, only thing needed to know is that it was very, VERY gruesome.

I watched everything she did with a poker face and kept following her around town, she eventually made her way to the graveyard and met Khajit, the wrinkled excuse of a living being and Clementine seemingly didn't get along swimmingly, considering threats were exchanged.

'Good, things are still the same.'

No significant changes have been made so far, but just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Clementine surprised me.

"Oh yeah Khajit, it seems our little boy has divine protection~" I nearly choked back in surprise, but it makes sense.

The angels are only level 20, Clementine is around level 30, she could easily see through the invisibility if she actively tried.

Such a stupid oversight! Who knows how this will change the plan of these two psychopaths?

"...Are you joking?"

"Wha~ You know I would never joke about something so serious~" She acted strangely and spoke in a weird way, typical of Clementine.

"But seriously now, there are two angels following him everywhere, and they aren't weak either, I will need your help to beat both of them."

"...Very well, after Nfirea returns from his trip and is alone, the both of us will ambush him, the angles should be no match for my bone dragons if they prove difficult to manage."

"Yay~ I knew I could rely on you Khajit~"

"...Whatever, do your job and I'll do mine."

I sighed with relief, things seem to be mostly the same, though the two bone dragons might become active a bit sooner, but to be honest, those things are barely worth mentioning anyway.

Okay, Ainz should be heading out as Momon tomorrow, after that, he will give the potion to that woman which will lead to Nfirea...

Wait, we didn't give Enri the potion to heal her, I used magic. Shit, I need to rope Nfirea to our service some other way then.

Well, we could always use his gratitude to emotionally blackmail him, and he won't mind having an excuse to live with Enri I'm sure.

Yeah, it will be fine, I will just have to go with Ainz again and use the same spells in front of him.

But then the villagers would recognize me, they would be quiet if I told them to, but if Nfirea lived there, it would only be a matter of time till everything slipped out.

"Haah~ What a pain." sighed and complained to myself, already getting tired of this.

As I sighed, the door to the library opened and a maid walked through, she had blond hair and cute glasses.

"Sir Thoth, I was sent to get some books for Miss Albedo." She bowed slightly in respect as I appeared in front of her.

"Right, give me a second." I teleported to three points in the library and picked three books.

They were titled the following: "Boundaries," "How to control your lust," and finally, the one I found funny, "How to fuck a skeleton."

I don't know why that is here, guess the Supreme Ones found it funny as a little easter egg.

I gave the three books to the maid who thanked me and left.

Now with nothing to do, I decided to go visit some of the other Guardians and see what they were up to.

"Let's see... How about I visit the twins?" I muttered to myself.

Indeed, the twins, more specifically Aura, were my favorite of the Guardians, though Cocytus was a rival for that position.

I don't know why, guess I have a thing for dark elves or something.

I didn't teleport to the sixth floor, instead, I walked there normally through the winding corridors of Nazarick.

It's easy to forget, but this place is immense, I think you could fit the entirety of E-Rantel in here, though that might just be my imagination.

After an hour of very boring slow walking and occasional encounters with maids, I finally found a teleporter which took me to the sixth floor.

I found myself in a side room, I left it and walked through a corridor into the large arena.

The colosseum stretched on before me, I took out my wings and flew into the air, looking for the siblings.

It didn't take long though, after a second, I could hear Aura shouting at me from the stands.

"Yo Thoth! Over here!" Aura waved her arm towards me, I flew down in response.

We are similarly tall, though I am a tiny bit taller.

"Hey Aura, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No no! I was actually getting bored and was considering playing with some of my pets, want to join me?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

Aura then whistled, the high-pitched noise seemed to travel across the entire floor and rumbling could be heard across the entire floor as an untold number of beasts came running to the Colosseum.

"By the way, is Mare still making those dummy hills?"

"Yeah, I'm so jealous! He can be useful to lord Ainz while I'm stuck here doing nothing."

"That's not true, you are protecting the tomb, there is no greater honor than that!" Aura nodded, but still seemed a bit dejected, so I tried a different approach. "How about I tell Lord Ainz how you feel? He might take you with him on his next mission."

Aura beamed a huge smile when I said this and spoke to me with joy in her voice, "You'd do that for me?!"

"Sure, I have to meet with Lord Ainz often anyway to provide reports, so I can mention it."

Aura jumped up and hugged me, which surprised me a bit but I recovered fairly quickly, she pulled away after hugging me for a second, now holding me by my shoulders. "Thanks so much, Thoth! I really appreciate that!"

"It's fine, the least I could do for you, anyways, it seems your pets are waiting." I pointed down into the Colosseum, which was now filled with beasts, each one more powerful than the last.

Their variety was also impressive, from white wolves to a large T-Rex, all kinds of creatures were under Aura's thumb.

"Hey guys!" Aura jumped down and started petting some of the closest animals, the others swarmed around her, also desperate for head pats.

"Hey, hey, calm down a bit! There are only so many head pats I can give you know?" The animals seemed a bit disappointed, but they calmed down, lest they be punished for their disobedience.

It was certainly a scene normal people would find terrifying, but it's just your normal day in Nazarick.

I jumped down, the animals only now caring about my presence.

"This is Thoth you guys! He's my friend so you better treat him well okay?" Aura introduced me.

She spoke in a harmless, soft voice like she was talking to puppies, but the animals knew better than to ignore her commands.

A few of them approached me and rubbed against me carefully, I patted them on their heads in return, though sometimes I needed to fly a bit off the ground to reach their heads.

"Good!" Aura praised them, making the beasts feel very happy.

And so the two continued to chat about things, including going on and on about how cool Ainz is, something which both could go on for days about.

Eventually, Thoth decided to excuse himself after a very exciting visit, unbeknownst to him, he spent six hours straight with Aura, time passes quickly when a person is having fun.

Next, I decided to visit Shaltear, I wonder how much progress she's made with her book.

I made my way to the third floor and began looking for her, after asking for some pointers from the local NPCs who were less than pleasant to look at and finally found Shaltear in her armor patroling while reading the "How to be attractive as a loli."

Of course, she'd read that book first.

"Hello Shaltear," I greeted the vampire who seemed to be completely absorbed in reading.

She looked up at me and blinked in surprise, "Ah- Hey Thoth, I was just reading the book you gave me."

"Yes I can tell, you seem to be quite absorbed in it." I raised an eyebrow.

"Ah-Well... Yes, you're right, I should focus on the patrol, but I want to be the best for Lord Ainz as fast as possible!"

Well, these crazy women have at least one good trait for a relationship, they are willing to do whatever it takes to make it work and are going to put in more than the maximum amount of effort.

"That is good, I just wanted to check in and ask if you have any questions."

"Well, you see, it says I should..."

I refuse to say what she told me afterward, I took the book from her and checked who the author was.

Of course, it was fucking Peroroncino, the perverted bird brain made this book, why didn't I think to check?

"...Okay..." I carefully considered my next words, "I think this book might be too advanced, here you go, take this one instead," I said as another book appeared in my hand and the other book disappeared, this one was significantly more tame and with actual relationship advice, not sexual techniques.

"Okay, sure!" Shaltear seemed excited to learn and immediately started reading.

I made sure none of the other books were made by Peroroncino and then left, leaving Shaltear to read and learn.

I have to say, I'm impressed by the girl's efforts, even though she's simple for now, her mind still works faster than any human's, so she could become incredibly intelligent given enough time.

A smart Shaltear, that sounds like such a bad joke.

Albedo is actually at a disadvantage there, she has very little free time, so she can't read the books and gain knowledge on how to win a man's heart, the fact she never actually did the deed or even talked to a man in her entire life also doesn't help her.

'Well, either way, Ainz is gonna deal with them however he wants.'

I picked up a book, this time about warfare, and began reading it, allowing more time to pass.

Meanwhile, Aura was still playing with her pets, though her duties prevented her from leaving the Ampitheather unattended.

Normally, she and her brother would have shifts so the other could take a break, but with Mare busy outside, she had to stay in the Ampitheather all the time, leaving her bored.

The fact she felt useless just sitting here didn't help her mind, so when Thoth offered to tell Ainz she wanted to go outside, she was ecstatic.

She hummed while swinging her legs, her pets were playing with each other at the moment, though their playing would kill any normal person in the area.

"Hahhh~ I can't wait to go outside again~" She was already excited to bathe in her home again, though this much discomfort was nowhere near enough to make her consider abandoning her post.

No, such a thing would never cross her mind, not even if her limbs were blown off, she wouldn't abandon Ainz's orders, much to Ainz's dismay.

Some of the beasts came up to Aura and made sad noises, making Aura look at them with a raised brow.

"What? You miss Thoth?" The beasts nodded slightly, his divine energy made them feel better subconsciously, and his head pats seemed to alleviate their worries, though Aura's felt way better and did a better job, but with so many others wanting them, getting any head pats was a win in their minds.

"Hmm... I guess I could invite him over sometimes, he was pretty nice and fun to hang out with..." The beasts cheered, and Aura smiled at the sight.

"Okay, you guys! Calm down, if you destroy anything I would need to explain it to Albedo." They calmed down again, though their excitement could still be felt.

Shaltear on the other hand just finished her patrol, and she felt a bit silly.

She should have known she wasn't smart enough to understand the words of a supreme one, but she didn't stay depressed for long.

She would study and learn till Thoth deemed her worthy of that book and its secrets, she would give it her all for her beloved Lord Ainz!

"Don't worry Ainz-sama~! I will prove worthy of you!" She cheered herself on, her vampire brides silent, fearful of Shaltears attention.

Ainz meanwhile, was laying on his bed in his room, the bed was as beautiful as a bed could be, with obsidian framing and velvet cushions, his assigned maid watched his every move, looking for anything to do for her master.

Ainz seemed to be reading Sun-Tzu's art of war, though in reality, he was merely complaining in his mind.

'Why is she still watching me?! I can't dismiss her, that would make her sad, but this is torture! I feel like a prisoner!'

Suddenly, he had a genius idea.

'That is it! I will go out tomorrow to explore the world, I don't want to be here watched like this, and while I'm out, I can think of a way to get myself more privacy without hurting the NPCs.'

'As for the reason... Well, I just want to explore our surroundings with my own two eyes while establishing a different identity for the future! Yes, that should be good enough.'

"Kukuku, good," Ainz spoke out loud on accident, making the maid tense up, her whole body and mind ready for any requests.

'I can't even laugh without her tensing up, *sigh*...'

And so, the skeleton read deep into the night, incapable of falling asleep.

-x-x-x-

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